Annie's birthday shoot

Every year I say that I'm going to do a photo session of each kid around their birthday. Then I overwhelm myself with how "perfect" I want it to be. I want to find a new location, and buy the most adorable outfit. The expectations in my head get to be so high, that all I end up doing is procrastinating until it's too late. This year, I put her "appointment" on my calendar, and treated it just like any other session. There was no extraordinary planning, and it was wonderful. As my amazing cousin (who is way too wise to just be 25 years old) would say, "just enough is plenty". I LOVE that. 

And I love my sweet bean.

 

This one is my favorite because ever since she was little, she always holds her hair back like this. It's a sweet mannerism that I associate with just her.
We went to ice cream later. She'd been talking about it for a week. We stood in line for 45 minutes, waiting for her "sundae that she could eat all by herself". Then she ate about 5 bites. Isn't it funny, how sometimes the anticipation is just as (if not more) fun than reality?

And it's also funny how you can set out to do something, only to be surprised that the best parts of your day were unplanned and unexpected. The most fun we had was because Jason left the top down on the car. And I'm not going to lie. I'm usually a total buzz-kill when it comes to convertibles, whining about how it dries out my contacts, and messes up my hair. But I busted out of my Granny shell. I wanted to listen to Aretha. But all she wanted to hear was Sister Sledge...(NINETY TWO TIMES, I might add). We blasted "WEE are FAM-AH-LEE!" And that's what families do, I think. We make plans. And then we roll with the beautiful, imperfect reality that pops up instead. 

The Yates Family: San Antonio Photographer

More photos from Kid's Day...these were taken in and around the studio.

Can you believe these eyes?! 

My favorite.

And a random link for your viewing pleasure :) ...I stumbled on this site recently, and am loving it. Check it out! And have a great day! 

The Busbee Family: San Antonio Photographer

Lianne and her cutiepie girls joined us for the last Kid's Day. Here are a few from their sesh.   :)

Thanks Lianne, I loved working with you all! And thanks Angelia for the referral, too.  :) I'll post more from the Kid's Day tomorrow.

In other news, I looked at the calendar this morning and realized that the summer is already closing in on me. SO, in an effort to keep life SIMPLE, I've devised a VERY good, very straightforward special, which I will run throughout the summer. It will only be valid for a LIMITED number of pre-selected weekdays throughout June, July and August. But if you've been thinking about having your portraits done, or want to get a jump on the holiday rush, I promise you will not want to miss out on this. And since blog readers are my favorite, you get dibs. If you want to be contacted first, let me know...admin@relishportraitstudio.com. Before it's posted here, an email with deets will go out in about a week.  

And that's it for now. Except for the fact that it's 6:00pm, and I'm dying for coffee. This can't be good. I see a long night in my future. 

mother's day!

What a Monday! I'd had every intention of blogging today (with real pictures and everything). But I did the Living Show this morning, and the rest of the day disappeared. I'll be back soon. But in the mean time just wanted to say that the Hot Mama shoot (May 23rd) is BOOKED! I'm not sure when the next one will be. But if you want to get on the list, send me an email. If there's enough interest, I might try to squeeze in another one before Christmas. AND, if you have a belly, you need to call Chic Mama to take advantage of the most amazing Mother's Day offer ever!  

Thank you Jesus!

So I've been stalking the dr.'s office to the point that they recognize my voice (if not my phone number). I'd say, "hi Bernice" and she'd say "nothing yet Maile." And I'd say, "Should I just wait on hold?" And she'd say, "Try back at 3:30." And so I'd call back precisely at three three oh and no seconds. My stomach would be flipping, and she'd say again, "Nothing yet, sorry." And my stomach would flip again just for good measure.

But this morning at 10:30 and no seconds she said the best word I have ever heard:

And I screamed and told Bernice that I loved her. And that if I ever have a fourth child it will be named 'Benign Bernice Wilson' even if it's a boy.

And then she went on to say: "Your margins were clear. No evidence of cancer in the lymph nodes. And the two other suspicious 'extractions' were benign".

If I don't make her words into a song, or a lullaby, or a top ten rap single, I might at least frame them up on the wall. You know, just for immediate perspective the next time I:

A. Want to join the Hare Krishna because of my excruciating tax bills. 

B. Am cursing the messy house, and the to-do list. 

C. Am whining about feeling fat. 

D. Am not just generally aware of how much worse it could be.

And at the risk of sounding like I just won an academy award (even though it's how I feel)...I do want to thank everyone again. Because, I am so GRATEFUL. To GOD. To my incredible family, and especially to my mother in law who dropped everything to be here. For ALL the prayers, and thoughts, and well wishes. And to my friends, especially DD and Katy who held my hand (literally) through the surgery. And who made me laugh the whole way through. If there's one thing I realized throughout this process it's that, for whatever is wrong with the world; THE GOOD IN PEOPLE'S HEARTS IS OVERWHELMING. Just completely. 

Love to you all. xo